Never owned a smartphone before, help me decide what to get?

[dscott7]

So I've never owned a smartphone before and I think it's time to upgrade. I'm on verizon.

What I'd like:

• 
  Not too big
  Good battery life (I know I can't match the 5 days on my current phone, but I'd like for it to be able to make it through the day and evening comfortably)
  Rootable (Not entirely sure if I want to root or not, I really can't see many advantages besides making it look slightly different)
  Good amount of storage space (micro SD would be nice, but if it has enough internal memory that'd be fine too. I'd like to be able to keep ~400ish songs on it so I don't have to waste data on streaming music. For apps I can't imagine having more than 20 or so)
  I'd like to stay around 100 dollars
  Fast
  Good for another year+

I've been looking at the Razr M (the new small one) and the galaxy nexus. The advantages of the razr m are that it's small, its newer, it seems faster, it has good battery life, it has micro sd. It doesn't have a removable battery, you can't move apps to the micro sd card, and it hasn't been rooted. The Galaxy nexus has been rooted, there's a ton of people who can help, it has a lot of internal storage, it has a removable battery. It doesn't have an sd card slot, it's already a year old, I don't know if verizon likes them since they're so customizable.

Once I get a smart phone are there any apps that are must haves? I know tasker is supposed to be great, but are there any other things I'd need? Calendars, messaging, utility stuff, etc

Do I root immediately or do I wait? Can I play music off an SD card if the music app is in the phone's memory?

Thanks!

 

[1coopgt]

The Razr M looks like a great phone . Go for it . You don't need to root right a way . One of my favorite apps is Power Amp ( Music app) and yes you can play music from your sd card . That's what I do instead of streaming .

 

[drew96dawg]

So I've never owned a smartphone before and I think it's time to upgrade. I'm on verizon.

What I'd like:

• 
  Not too big
  Good battery life (I know I can't match the 5 days on my current phone, but I'd like for it to be able to make it through the day and evening comfortably)
  Rootable (Not entirely sure if I want to root or not, I really can't see many advantages besides making it look slightly different)
  Good amount of storage space (micro SD would be nice, but if it has enough internal memory that'd be fine too. I'd like to be able to keep ~400ish songs on it so I don't have to waste data on streaming music. For apps I can't imagine having more than 20 or so)
  I'd like to stay around 100 dollars
  Fast
  Good for another year+

I've been looking at the Razr M (the new small one) and the galaxy nexus. The advantages of the razr m are that it's small, its newer, it seems faster, it has good battery life, it has micro sd. It doesn't have a removable battery, you can't move apps to the micro sd card, and it hasn't been rooted. The Galaxy nexus has been rooted, there's a ton of people who can help, it has a lot of internal storage, it has a removable battery. It doesn't have an sd card slot, it's already a year old, I don't know if verizon likes them since they're so customizable.

Once I get a smart phone are there any apps that are must haves? I know tasker is supposed to be great, but are there any other things I'd need? Calendars, messaging, utility stuff, etc

Do I root immediately or do I wait? Can I play music off an SD card if the music app is in the phone's memory?

Thanks!

Congrats on deciding to try a smartphone. The nexus and razr m are both great devices. The razr m will most likely have a root tool available soon. The m will also be good if you live in an area with subpar signal, moto is known for their strong radios. Even though the nexus is a year old it is guaranteed to be supported by google for another year. You can buy extended or multiple batteries to help it last longer. Many people had issues with reception with it though so if you live in a rural area I would be cautious about buying it. In the end it all comes down to which one feels better in your hand.
Welcome to droid forums!
My favorite apps are:
Gsam battery monitor
Rom toolbox pro (only need once you root)
Tapatalk(forum app)

Sent from a Droid2 Using Xparent Blue Tapatalk

 

[TisMyDroid]

Welcome to DroidForums dscott! I think when you go to Verizon to play with the phones, that will help make your decision.

With the M, there are a few disadvantages to not having a removable battery but as much as I worried about that with my Razr, I really have not missed it at all.

The need for adding storage is a definite must for me so having expandable storage is important imho.

I am not certain about whether you can move apps to the sdcard or not on the M but it seems like you should be able to. But even so, I believe the dedicated storage for apps is the same as my Maxx... I have not moved any apps to my sdcard, I have 130 apps installed and I still have over 2gb free for more apps so the M should be good for that.

Like drew said, if you are in an area that does not have a strong signal, Motorola is recognized for their great reception.

There is no need to root right away and you may find that you don't even feel a need to root.

There are a ton of apps to get you started. Quick pic for your photo gallery is very popular. gsams for monitoring battery usage is also popular. Poweramp is my choice for listening to music. Pretty much anything you want to do, there is an app for that.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

 

[drew96dawg]

The man thng I don't like about the gnex is that it doesn't have gorilla glass

Sent from a Droid2 Using Xparent Blue Tapatalk

 

[dscott7]

I think when you go to Verizon to play with the phones, that will help make your decision.

I went to verizon today and was able to play with the M a little bit and it felt pretty good. They said the galaxy nexus is only available online now though so I wasn't able to see it in person.

 

[TisMyDroid]

Oh wow, that's too bad because being able to see them in real life does help with the decision.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

 

[syndicate0017]

Those recommending the M for signal strength may want to look into this.

https://forums.motorola.com/posts/5fb46833c0?page=1

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[drew96dawg]

Those recommending the M for signal strength may want to look into this.

https://forums.motorola.com/posts/5fb46833c0?page=1

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Wow that sucks. Why would they mess with the radio placement?

Sent from a Droid2 Using Xparent Blue Tapatalk

 

[dscott7]

Well I'm going to be in a place where there won't be 4g coverage for the next year. 3g and normal cell service is fine correct?

 

[TisMyDroid]

By that thread, it appears that 3g is fine. It is a little hard to determine how common that problem is because usually there are pages & pages when it is widespread. The phone being fairly new and the # of sales would play a factor in that also.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

 

[Mike.757]

The Razr M is currently not rootable. That said, you can always move your apps to your sd card. Use rom toolbox pro to do that. You can also save your music to your sd card and play it with your stock music player or any other player.

With Motorola ICS, you do not need tasker since ICS has smart actions which does most of what tasker does.

A couple of Apps that are must haves for me:

ROM Toolbox Pro
Assistant
Vlingo
Evernote
Google+

Enjoy!

 

[Caesars]

RAZR MAXX

Return of the Android

 

[jtc303]

Love my maxx which offers everything you're looking for... My favorite apps are netflix, hbo/max go, rocket player (music player)...
All those are self explanatory but my absolute fave is Pocketband which is great for music lovers... It's a great tool to make songs/beats, publish them, download the mp3 and has a great community which can listen rate and comment on your tracks... Free is great too but the pay version is well worth the 10 bucks... Whenever I get bored I just make a new beat